Best Ultimate Bread Pudding Recipes

ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9-in. springform pan with 1 tablespoon butter. Cube remaining butter; place in a small saucepan. Add chocolate chips and brown sugar. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat., In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, vanilla, espresso powder and salt. Gently stir in bread; let stand until bread is softened, about 15 minutes. Fold in chocolate mixture. Transfer to prepared pan. Bake, uncovered, until a knife inserted in center comes out clean, 45-55 minutes. Cool on a wire rack 15 minutes., Meanwhile, for sauce, heat cream in a small heavy saucepan until bubbles form around sides. In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk, brown sugar and salt. Whisk a small amount of hot cream into egg mixture; return all to pan, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until mixture is thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Stir in butter. Fold in pecans and coconut. If desired, stir in brandy. Cool., For whipped cream, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add confectioners' sugar and, if desired, brandy; beat until soft peaks form., Loosen sides of pan with a knife. Carefully run a knife around edge of springform pan to loosen; remove rim from pan. Serve pudding warm with sauce and whipped cream.

ULTIMATE CARAMEL BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Spread 1 c Caramel Sauce in bottom of 13 x 9 pan. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Cut bread into 1-inch cubes. Any large loaf will do, but a nice French bread, or a Challah work especially well.
• Spread bread cubes onto sheet pan in a single layer. Brown in oven for about 10-12 minutes.
• Reduce oven to 325. Don't forget this step (the voice of experience speaks)!
• In a medium bowl, mix eggs, half-and-half, vanilla and salt. Add 1 1/2 c caramel sauce to this mixture.
• Place bread cubes in a very large bowl and pour mixture over cubes. Toss gently until all cubes are coated.
• Let stand 20 minutes, gently mixing occasionally. Be sure that there are no dry cubes!
• Spread the soaked bread over the caramel in the 13 x 9 pan.
• Bake at lower oven level for 45 minutes.
• Let cool 30 minutes and serve, drizzled with remaining caramel sauce.

ULTIMATE BROWNIE BREAD PUDDING WITH COCONUT CHUNKS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray.
• Add the brownie and candy bars to the prepared loaf pan.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the heavy cream, vanilla and eggs to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan over the brownies and candy bars, allowing the liquid to soak in.
• Bake until puffed and cooked through, about 30 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

ULTIMATE TART CHERRY BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350, grease a casserole dish
• 2. Toss the cubed bread with the cinnamon, pecans and cherries and place in casserole dish.
• 3. Mix the eggs, milk, sugar, salt and vanilla well with a whisk.
• 4. Pour over the bread mixture and let it sit to absorb for an hour.
• 5. Bake until set, about an hour. This will depend on the depth of your dish, I like to use a deep dish. If you use a shallow dish check it after 45 minutes.
• 6. For the sauce:
• 7. Mix the flour and sugar in a small saucepan.
• 8. Add the juice and water.
• 9. Cook over medium heat until thickened. Stir frequently.
• 10. Set aside to cool.
• 11. Serve topped with the sauce and whipped cream.

THE ULTIMATE MAKEOVER: BREAD & BUTTER PUDDING

Steps:

• Put the apricots and raisins in a small dish, pour over the brandy and leave to soak, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, beat the egg and sugar together in a medium bowl, then whisk in the custard powder with a balloon whisk until smooth. Warm the milk in a small non-stick saucepan; then, when it's just coming up to a boil, remove from the heat and slowly stir into the egg mixture. Scrape in the vanilla seeds, drop in the pared lemon zest and vanilla pod and set aside to cool and infuse for 30 mins.
• Whisk the crème fraîche into the cooled milk. Strain this custard through a sieve into a jug. Using ¼ tsp butter from the 25g, very lightly butter a shallow ovenproof dish, about 20 x 25 x 4.5cm.
• Butter the bread on one side only with the rest of the butter, then spread over the conserve or jam. Cut each slice into 4 triangles, then lay half the triangles, jam side up, in the dish. Scatter over half the apricots and raisins, then lay the rest of the bread over the top, again jam side up. Scatter over the rest of the dried fruit and any unsoaked brandy, then pour half the custard over the bread. Leave to soak for 15 mins. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
• Sit the dish in a roasting tin. Pour the rest of the custard over the bread, press the bread lightly into the custard then half fill the roasting tin with hot water. Bake for 20 mins, then raise the heat to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 and bake for a further 5-10 mins until the bread on top is crisp and golden. Remove and let the pudding sit for 2-3 mins. Sift over the icing sugar and serve warm.

ULTIMATE BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• Note: bread can be any non-savory firm textured bread.
• Avoid soft supermarket bread- makes pudding mushy and avoid rustic crusty loaves with open crumb- doesn't absorb and yields too firm a pudding.
• Whole wheat cinnamon raisin works well, but a brioche or challah work the best.
• Preheat oven to 350, butter a 13x9 baking dish.
• Whisk milk and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat.
• Meanwhile scrape vanilla bean into milk mixture and throw in pods.
• Heat to steaming, but not boiling.
• Discard vanilla pods.
• Whisk eggs and yolks in a large bowl, gradually add 2 cups of hot milk mixture, then pour egg mixture into the saucepan with the hot milk.
• Strain and whisk in cream.
• Spread bread cubes in prepared dish.
• Slowly pour custard over bread being sure to saturate all of the bread.
• Bake in the center of the oven for about 1 hour or until a small knife inserted in the center of the pudding comes out clean.
• Serve warm or chilled with whipped cream or caramel sauce.
• Note: you can add raisins, currents, dried cranberries, sour cherries or any other dried fruit you like.

THE ULTIMATE BREAD PUDDING

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8 inch (2L) baking dish. 2. Pour boiling water over raisins and allow to soak for 10 minutes. Drain well. 3. Meanwhile, place both kinds of cream in a saucepan and heat gently. 4. In a bowl, beat egg yolks with sugar. Beat in cream and vanilla. 5. Sprinkle half of the raisins in bottom of baking dish. Btter brioche and arrange buttered side up in the dish in a single layer or slightly overlapping. Sprinkle with remaining raisins. Pour in custard. 6. Bake in a water bath for 50 to 60 minutes, or until just set. Cool for about 15 minutes. 7. Heat jam and brush over top of pudding. Serve warm or cold. Lighter version: Use milk instead of the light cream and whipping cream. Use 5 whole eggs instead of 8 egg yolks. Of course, this version will not be as rich as the original, but it will still work.